Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-11-28
ADMINISTRATION FOOLISHNEss.

An attack of what Is supposed, by those
afflicted with II, to be superior smartness,
has now hit the great postofice department
of the United States, and the department
is, In turn. affecting the great body Of bus
iness m.n-Of all classes and politics
with bit of gratuitous foolishness that Is
making great deal Of unnecessary trouble
and expense. The department now declares
that package which contains exclusively
printed matter Is liable to letter postage II
II has printed on the envelope anything
further than the sender's name. The desig-
nation of the sender's business is forbidden.
The practice has been for many years to
send out matter Of this sort. with engraved
or printed business cards. at the rates Of
circular postage, and this order at the pres
ept time is so wanton and needless Is to
create universal indignation. In this city,
especially. are our business men greatly
annoyed and inconvenienced. as they have
many thousands of printed circulars ready
to mail, which are now useless. OF the
way In which this order affects Toledo, the
Commercial says:
There is not business man In Toledo,
nor In the country. who 10 not affected by
this decision. The subject was brought to
the attention of the Commercial by Mr.. b.
A. Stevens, who suffers by it. Mr.. Stevens,
in sending out circulars, has been accns-
toned to have printed on the envelope "B.
A. Stevens, Toledo"-and the cities In
VII ich he has branch houses. This makes
the circulars liable to letter rates. according
to the postoflice department ruling.
There are various patent tags which are
used as address cards on merchandise. The
law requires that an object patented shall
be so designated. Yet the pOstoffice de-
partment holds that the name Of the
patentee upon such makes 1t liable to letter
postage.
The New York Journal of Commerce
denounces the order Is ian attempt to sub
stitute the whim Of some stupid clerk in
the postoffice department for the act Of
congress-" The COngreqdtionalist, Of Bos-
ton. touches up the ruling, effectively, in
the following:
Whoever the public functionary at WASH
ington may be who has practical control OF
the postoffice department. he would be
likely to have new vision OF himself could
he but know the pent-up feelings Of indig-
nation all over the land at the arbitrary or
ders which he seems to issue. with about as
much apparent Indifference to the public
veal as is exercised toward the banished
prisoners in the Siberian mines. For years
ii has been allowed in mailing
book, for example, that the place
and business OF the publisher
should be designated in the printed
lnpel on the wrapper; but suddenly the
wind shifts at Washington, and. without
previous notice. all receiving such . book
are required to pay for il at full postage
rates. In New York, in like manner.
forty tiro cents postage Is demanded on q
package Of the Congregitiondtist sent
there from Boston. simply because the
label has on il the mark 40 copies"
First word comes from Washington tha'
the law is, nothing but the name" Of the
sender can be allowed on the wrapper. and
then suddenly it is all rescinded. Then
comes word again that the law must be
enforced. with the weak plea that there
can be no let-up except by act Of congress:
when everybody knows that the depart
ment is perfectly competent TO put . com
nonsense construction on the Law, should
IT choose to do 50. This is not the first
time that the postoffics department has
been guilty Of annoying the country by
decisions which are both absurd and arbi-
trary. II our express companies, OF any
other concern. were suddenly to demand
five or ten times the usual rates for deliy-
ering package, and then rs suddenly 60
back to the old rule. without refunding
these extra amounts that have been paid
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